The Ten

Summer 2021, Week 5

Tuesday evening

The Magnificent Frog, The Wards

Storyteller

The Magnificent Frog was cleaned up rather well after the event just the previous day, but it remained empty of patrons. The horrific crime that took place there was quickly overlooked, the NVPD too busy with other matters for them to deal with a massacre in The Wards of all places. The event might make the news as a footnote, but it more than likely won't be investigated. At least, that was the thinking the young woman had when she returned to the crime scene early this morning to find that it still hadn't been touched despite the panic button having been triggered. The police never came, and they never would.   She moved the corpses into the alleyway and contacted the families of those she could identify. Some turned up to take the bodies, barely able to afford a funeral of any kind, and others didn't bother or didn't even answer. Some had no family to call in the first place. Those who were not taken elsewhere were buried in a small opening behind some of the buildings on the same street, one of the few areas in this part of the city with some trees and grass outside of the park.   Once they were buried she carves into a tree at the center of the space the names of those she could identify, even those who were taken elsewhere by their families, as a sort of monument to those lost in the attack. At the top is the number '10' to signify the total number of people lost in the attack.    

Elizabeth Jones

"I'm sorry I can't give you a proper funeral, the best I can do for those of you who were left in my care is to put you in the ground and make sure you are remembered to the best of my ability." she says, finishing up the carving and taking a step back. "And to get justice for you, since this city will not. I won't abandon this place though, I promise you that. This was more than just my home, more than just Frank's home, this was home to many of you as well. And the sanctity of that home has been violated with your deaths, something I cannot let go unanswered. You taught me that, Dad, that when someone punches you, ya punch back harder.." A tear starts to form in her eye after she says this, only overshadowed by a sense of resolve ingrained in her voice and expression that appears as she continues. "So no, I won't abandon this place. I'll rebuild our home for the people who still need it. But when I'm not doing that, I'll be doing everything in my power to punch back. That's a promise." She places her hand on the list of names for a moment before turning away to return to the bars interior.   As she reenters the building her phone plays a notification alert and she quickly pulls the phone out of her pocket to see a new email from a strange address. "The hell?" She opens it up and reads the short message as she wipes away a tear, then downloads a copy of the attachment. Suddenly she's forced from mourning into a state of concern. What is this, some kind of conspiracy shit? Who the hell is this person? Oh god, who would know what to do with this? Am I going to have to ask online? That would be kind of careless, should avoid doing that if I can.. Oh! Nicole! She was always going on about this kind of thing in school, maybe she can help me out.